The project WIKIAlps is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the frame of the European Territorial Cooperation Programme Alpine Space.

Spatial development is a crucial issue in the Alpine Space where economy, society and environment have to coexist in a very confined space. Any small action taken in any of these fields can trigger big alterations in the others. In the same way, actions taken at local, regional or national level have consequences that affect other countries within the Alpine Space. A balanced and shared territorial development in all the Alpine Space countries needs appropriate, current and manageable information for a sound decision-making. Nowadays the big and diverse amount of information available makes finding the correct and useful pieces very difficult and time consuming.

The WIKIAlps project provides operative ready-to-use tools to facilitate decision makers, civil servants, researchers and entrepreneurs on this task.

The project capitalises on Alpine Space program projects from two thematic fields “Inclusive growth” and “Resource efficiency and ecosystem management” highlighting: not recognized synergies, remaining gaps, achievements that could be further implemented, emerging contradictions, potential requirements and benefits for sustainable transnational spatial development.

To obtain a multidisciplinary overall picture of spatial development in the Alpine Space, WIKIAlps analyses it from three different angles. The tools available through the results of selected Alpine Space projects. The actors involved, through a stakeholders analysis. And the challenges and needs through relevant spatial development documents at the regional, national and international level, and conversations with stakeholders.

The project analysis within WIKIAlps is carried out in two steps: a broader screening of results as provided by final reports and project websites of all projects in the two thematic fields (Inclusive growth and Resource efficiency and ecosystem management) is followed by an in-depth analysis of selected projects.

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These hypotheses have been developed to serve as a reference for the project analysis and do not claim to fully represent all driving forces of spatial development.

Hypotheses on sustainable spatial development have been synthesized on the basis of the following documents:

1. Strategy Development for the Alpine Space
2. Report on the State of the Alps “Sustainable Rural Development and Innovation” (Summary)
3. Alpine Convention Protocol on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development
4. A resource-efficient Europe – Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 strategy (COM (2011) 21)
5. Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 (COM (2011) 244 final)
6. European Commission (2011): Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe. COM(2011) 571 final.

LIST OF HYPOTHESES:

Spatially adapted policies:

• Coordination of sector policies to prevent exploitation of natural resources and single-sector economies
• Sensitive Alpine territory requires appropriate and diversified measures (consensus-oriented multi-stakeholder approach)

Macroregional issues:

• Partnerships & trade-offs between inner- and outer-Alpine areas

Urban-rural linkages:

• Rural-urban partnership requires vital networks and processes
• Cross-sectoral and integrated approaches are needed to slow down impacts in rural areas

Acknowledgment / internalization of external effects / Compensation schemes:

• Adopt policies that recognize the multi-functionality of the primary sector
• Economic valorisation of natural resources and ecosystem services initiates new compensations schemes
• Compensation schemes between urban and rural areas

Services of general interest:

• Rural areas need to cooperate and complement each other
• Public services are under pressure and cuts will particularly affect small and isolated mountain communities

Alpine economic development:

• Competition between global and regional economic cycles
• Changing consumer patterns require adaptation of tourism evolution
• Value creation in the primary sector generates payment schemes and opportunities for regional economic development
• Resource efficient economies become economically competitive and implement sustainable structures

Demographic change:

• Ageing population requires adaptation and offers opportunities for Alpine areas

Alpine ecosystems:

• Alps are a hotspot for maintaining and restoring ecosystem services

Pressure on Alpine resources

• Changes in energy sector requires more energy efficiency and causes land use changes
• Urban development and increasing land take pose a risk

Mobility:

• High mobility level punctually triggers economic growth and at the same time aggravates spatial disparities

In order to identify the transnational topics in Alpine area two documents deem to be of high priority.

• The Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development for the European Continent (CEMAT 2000)and
• the Alpine Convention Protocol on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development.

Based on these documents and adjusted to mountain environments transnational topics are compiled in a grouping to CEMAT’s 10 main principles:

LIST OF TOPICS

1. Territorial cohesion through balanced social and economic development
2. peri-alpine relationship
3. Balanced accessibility
4. Developing access to information and knowledge
5. Reducing environmental damage
6. Enhancing and protecting natural resources and natural heritage
7. Enhancing cultural heritage as a factor for development
8. Safe development of energy resources
9. Encouraging high quality, sustainable tourism
10. Limitation of natural disaster impacts

LIST OF KEYWORDS

• accessibility;
• biodiversity;
• climate change;
• travel
• connectivity;
• cultural landscape
• migration;
• green learning
• economic cluster
• institutionnal learning;
• entrepreneur(ship), start-ups
• legislation;
• governance;
• ICT;
• integrated mobility planning;
• integrated tourism;
• intermodality
• knowledge transfer;
• landscape management;
• freight transport
• modal shift
• natural heritage;
• natural resource management;
• networks for innovation
• passenger transport
• policentric development;
• pollution;
• public services;
• renewable energies,
• prevention,
• road and rail;
• rural development;
• SME support and networks;
• technology development;
• territorial development;
• transport security;
• peri-urban development;
• urban-rural partnership;
• water management;

WIKIAlps intends to use results from the following previous projects. On each individual project link hereunder there is part of the information gathered to undertake the project screening.

• DIAMONT – Data infrastructure for the Alps: mountain orientated network technology

Thematic field “Inclusive Growth”:

• ACCESS – Improving accessibility of services of general interest: organisational innovations in rural mountain areas
• ALIAS - Alpine Hospitals Networking for Improved Access to Telemedicine Services
• ALPHOUSE - Alpine building culture and energy-efficiency
• Alps Bio Cluster - TransAlpine Bio Cluster
• CABEE - Capitalizing Alpine Building Evaluation Experiences
• CAPACities – Competitiveness Actions and Policies for Alpine Cities
• COMUNIS – Inter-municipal cooperation for strategic steering of SME-oriented location development in the Alpine Space
• DEMOCHANGE – Adaptation strategies to spatial planning and regional development
• InnoCité – How to improve competitiveness of small-medium cities under the influence of Alpine great urban centres
• MORECO – Mobility and residential costs
• NATHCARE – Networking Alpine Health for Continuity of Care
• PLAT.F.O.R.M – Platform to Form Opinions Related to Mobility
• RURBANCE – Rural urban governance
• SPHERA – Spatial Planning and Health Systems: enhancing territorial governance in Alpine Space

Thematic field “Resource Efficiency and Ecosystem Management”:

• AIM - Alpine space In Movement, targeted to water & energy capitalization
• Alp-Water-Scarce – Water management strategies against water scarcity in the Alps
• ALP FFIRS – Alpine Forest FIre waRning System
• Econnect – Restoring the web of life
• GeoMol – Assessing subsurface potentials of the Alpine Foreland Basins for sustainable planning and use of natural resources
• GreenAlps – Connecting mountains people nature
• MANFRED – Management strategies to adapt Alpine Space forests to climate change risks
• NEWFOR – NEW technologies for a better mountain FORest timber mobilization
• PermaNET – Longterm permafrost monitoring network
• Recharge.green –Balancing Alpine energy and nature
• SedAlp – Sediment management in Alpine basins
• SESAMO – Susatainable hydropower in alpine rivers ecosystems
• SILMAS – Sustainable instruments for lakes management in the Alpine Space
• SHARE – Sustainable Hydropower in Alpine Rivers Ecosystems
• Start_It_Up – State-of-the-Art in Risk Management Technology: Implementation and Trial for Usability in Engineering Practice and Policy

The identification of transnational needs and challenges in regard to spatial development in the Alpine Space will be based on an analysis of relevant transnational and national documents and selected relevant research results as well.

Therefore the meaning of two terms have a crucial influence on results:

• Sustainable Spatial Development (SSD)
• Transnational approaches

The documents analysed are listed in the article Document & Sources.

The outcomes of transnational and national doucments are presented along some central key questions of such a transnational sustainable spatial development:

• Which type and dimension of transnational operations are documents dealing with?
• What are added values of transnational spatial development expected in these documents ?
• What are obstacles for transnational spatial development observed for a transnational SSD ?
• What are proposals and good examples transnational spatial development referred to in the documents ?
• What are key stakeholders for transnational spatial development and the topics in the documents ?

Find answers on these key questions following further the links above!

These transnational needs and challenges may in a later stage also be used as a methodological tool in the project analysis to assess which of the needs and challenges are being addressed in Alpine Space projects and which of these have been unrepresented.